Freshman quarterback JT Daniels dazzles in first USC scrimmage

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USC quarterback’s JT Daniels (18) during USC football practice at Howard Jones Field on the campus of the University of Southern California on Wednesday, Aug. 08, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Upon his first snap, Daniels paced in the pocket, then lofted a pass along the sideline to Amon-Ra St. Brown. The football had traveled close to 50 yards in the air before reaching St. Brown, who leaped over cornerback Isaiah Langley to grab it. After some contact, St. Brown brought in the catch as he fell back onto the grass.

The rainbow pass elicited a variety of oohs and aahs from the hundred or so players’ parents and guests seated in the northwest corner of the stadium. Three plays later, Daniels again hit St. Brown, his former Mater Dei High teammate, for a touchdown on a back-shoulder fade.

Daniels made his strongest case yet that he could become only the second true freshman quarterback to start a season opener for the Trojans next month. Over the 65-play scrimmage, he threw more touchdowns than incompletions in what looked like an extended highlight reel, finishing 10 of 12 passing for four touchdowns, three of them landing in the hands of St. Brown. He did not throw an interception and was sacked once.

“I thought JT, for the first time in a live-game situation, looked very comfortable,” USC coach Clay Helton said. “Didn’t look like the situation of being in the Coliseum was too big for him. And I like the way he distributed the ball.”

Daniels split about a third of the repetitions with quarterbacks Matt Fink, a redshirt sophomore, and Jack Sears, a redshirt freshman, as they jockey to succeed Sam Darnold, who left early for the NFL. The three passers each led the offense for a pair of series, followed by two-minute drill situations.

Helton commended all three. Sears completed 7 of 10 passes for a pair of touchdowns. Fink connected on 9 of his 14 passes. As Helton and the Trojans’ offensive coaches evaluate the quarterbacks, he acknowledged their performances in the training-camp scrimmages would be more heavily weighted.

“This is real life, in the Coliseum, with live bullets flying,” Helton said. “This is like a preseason game in the NFL. That’s the way we approached it. We get three of those opportunities and this was one of them.”

Attention swirled around Daniels. It was his first significant test after arriving on campus this summer amid great fanfare, celebrated as the Gatorade national player of the year and a touted five-star recruit who led Mater Dei to an undefeated season last fall. For the moment in the afternoon sunshine Saturday, he looked like the next golden boy quarterback at USC, delivering one deep throw and quick strike after another in a stellar showing.

Daniels’ arguably most impressive pass came near the end of the scrimmage. St. Brown was running a post route over the middle of the field. Daniels stood in the pocket, waited, allowing St. Brown to reach the end zone, then sandwiched a throw between a pair of defensive backs, traveling about 35 yards in another display of his deep touch.

Helton, who was the only coach or player to speak with reporters following the scrimmage, spent considerable time seemingly tempering expectations as if not to add to any hype through nine days of training camp.

“He’s doing a nice job,” Helton said. “Again, it’s only practice eight. It’s one scrimmage. Obviously, everyone is going to come away impressed, but with the work he’s put in, I’m very proud of him. He’s going to put himself in a competition.”

Helton added his fair share of praise about Daniels.

“Obviously he’s a very mature kid, physically and mentally,” Helton said. “The investment he’s made early in the spring, getting the playbook and studying it, the approach he took in the summer of shutting up and working, and going through our player-run practices and learning, and learning from Matt, and learning from Jack, you can see the investment he’s made. Our goal with all our freshmen is not to learn but compete when they come into camp, and obviously he’s doing a nice job.”

The competition is expected to continue through at least the end of training camp on Aug. 18, and Helton intimated it could go on as late as until the week before the Sept. 1 season opener against UNLV before they settle on a starter.

Daniels made an early move Saturday.

QUICK HITS

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe injured his ankle when snagging a deep touchdown pass from Sears along the sideline and was pulled from the scrimmage. Imatorbhebhe was later wearing a walking boot on his left foot. … Left tackle Chuma Edoga (hip soreness), wide receiver Michael Pittman (shoulder), safety Ykili Ross (hamstring) and linebacker Cameron Smith (hamstring) did not participate in the scrimmage. … The Trojans are off Sunday, before resuming training camp with practice Monday.

Joey Kaufman is the USC beat writer for the Southern California News Group. Since joining the Orange County Register in 2015, he has also covered Major League Baseball and UCLA athletics. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors and Football Writers Association of America. Kaufman grew up in beautiful downtown Burbank.